Rescue workers have used helicopters and boats to evacuate hundreds of people stranded on rooftops following unprecedented flooding in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
With the torrential rains stopping on Friday, thousands of rescuers worked quickly to shift the marooned people to 1,200 state-run camps where more than 150,000 people already have taken shelter.
Heavy rains over the past eight days triggered flooding, landslides and home and road bridge collapses, severely disrupting air and train services in Kerala state, a popular tourist destination with beautiful beaches.
State officials have put the death toll at 164 since August 8.
Monsoon rains kill hundreds of people every year in India. The season runs from June to September.
The flooding has severely hit 12 of Kerala’s 14 districts, affecting the lives of more than 200,000 people with hundreds of homes damaged since June.
Crops over 80,300 acres of land have also been damaged, the Home Ministry said.
The international airport at Kochi, a major port city, suspended flight operations until Saturday after the runway was flooded. Authorities also asked tourists to stay away from the popular hill station of Munnar in Idukki district because of flooding.
India’s National Emergency Response Centre said more than 800 people have died in seven states since the start of the monsoon season in June.
A total of 247 have died in Kerala, 190 in Uttar Pradesh, 183 in West Bengal, 139 in Maharashtra, 52 in Gujarat, 45 in Assam and 11 in Nagaland state, the Press Trust of India reported.
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